Keeping It Real
Chelsea, tell us about where you grew up, a little about your childhood in the country, and what brought you to Charleston.
Between working and filming I don’t get a whole lot of free time, but when I do, I try my best to be on the water. There is something about the water that is freeing and rejuvenating for me. There is also something about the Lowcountry water in particular that feels like home. I love fishing, wake surfing, paddleboarding, sunrise surf sessions, and shark tooth hunting along Folly Beach with my pup, Tyson.
I grew up on the May River in Bluffton, South Carolina. At the time, Bluffton was a sleepy little river town where everyone knew their neighbor and all the kids played in the pluff mud after school. When my mother remarried we moved to Florence, SC where we lived on an 80-acre horse farm with an equestrian center. I spent a fair share of my childhood Simple, open shelving with sconce competing in horse shows lighting and an and cleaning stalls. After understated color high school and college I palette all help the moved to Hilton Head Isgreen tile stand out. land for a short time before taking a job in medical sales that brought me to Charleston. My entire family slowly made their way to Charleston after I settled here. I don’t know what’s better— getting to call Charleston home for the past ten years, or no longer having to travel for the holidays. I love having them all here, close to me. What do you do for a living now and how did you decide it’s what you wanted to do? I’ve been a hairstylist for five years now. After spending some time traveling and learning things about myself, I eventually decided it was time to work doing something I loved. I’ve always thought that I work too hard to work for someone else, so I finally decided it was time to do something for me, something I would love waking up to do everyday. Styling hair gives me the ability to be creative and help people feel great about themselves. It’s rewarding in that way. Being self-employed also gives me the freedom to travel, which is my true passion.
Not one to shy away from trying new things or learning new skill sets, I recently picked up archery. If you haven’t noticed a pattern, I am also someone who goes “all in,” so I built an archery range in my backyard. Something about hitting a bullseye from 40 yard away makes you feel really tough. [laughs]
Between filming and being a regular cast member of Bravo’s Southern Charm (and all that it entails), what do you do in your down time?
You were a competitor on CBS’s Survivor, too. Where did they send you that season and what made you decide to participate?
126 • CH+D • Winter 2019
They sent us to Samoa, which honestly, I had never heard of. [laughs] It’s a beautiful island in the South Pacific, in case you haven’t heard of it either. It’s a crazy story how it all happened. I got a random call from a CBS recruiter asking if I had ever seen Survivor and if I had any interest in trying out for the show. At the time, I was working in medical sales and felt like it was too big of a risk to lose my job, which at that point was my dream job. I told the recruiter I had only seen the first season of Survivor and didn’t know much about it. So initially, I declined. After discussing the potential opportunity with my family, they were quick to make me feel like an idiot for not taking advantage of what could be the adventure of a lifetime. Needless to say, I called the recruiter back and told her to sign me up. We went through the extensive interview and screening process, then I went months without hearing back from them, so I assumed I didn’t make the cut. Then I got the call. They said, “Congratulations, you leave in two weeks.” Two weeks! Things became very chaotic very quickly, but looking back, it’s probably a good thing I didn’t have too much time to think about what I was about to get into. Overthinking choices can limit us in so many ways that we aren’t even aware of, you know? I might have ended up talking myself out of going if I’d had more time to prepare. That sounds like it was a whirlwind! And you had a hard, but great experience while you were there. Can you describe your experience and the friendships you developed? I can honestly say it was the absolute hardest thing I have ever experienced. It poured rain the first five days we were